Turkey Shoot - Retro Review

So, After the re-watch joy that was Razorback I decided on another Sunday morning in bed and another delve into my Ozploitation shelf.
This time it was the totally insane classic Turkey Shoot.
Set in a government controlled future that is the year 2000 Turkey Shoot tells the tale of the rich taking people who the government have seen as committing crimes against them and locking them up in a camp so that the rich can randomly hunt them down.
It's bonkers, That sums It up really. It has the feeling of classics such as the big bird cage, Logans run etc..  The prison guards are totally evil and over the top and the gore level is up there. The characters of both the hunters and the hunted are brilliant. The huge bald prison gaurd is a pure lunatic. As for the Wolf man/Circus freak well he has to be seen to be believed. The head of the prison camp is called "Thatcher" strangely enough!

It does have a very strong underlying political message but this doesn't distract from what fun it is. Some brilliant one liners and way over the top acting, Brilliant.
I would definitely recommend you tracking this down as it's now readily available fully uncut.
8/10.

TURKEY SHOOT TRAILER

'Occupied' from best-selling author Jo Nesbø - REVIEWED

OCCUPIED - OUT NOW ON DVD AND BLU-RAY.

The huge explosion in "Nordic" TV continues with the quite wonderful Occupied, Written by the brilliant Jo Nesbo it tells the story that in the near future in order to protect the environment the government decide to halt oil production which could plunge the country into chaos and with Europe on the brink of war this is not a popular decision in any way shape or form. It echoes the cold war with Russia threatening to invade Norway. It has been said that the show has come in for a lot of negativity from Russia about the depiction of them in the show, I'll leave my comments out on that score in case this is being read in Moscow!

With a budget of £7Million in Filmed in Norwegian, Russian and English It's made by the folks that brought us The girl with the dragon tattoo and the quality shines through. Recently aired on Sky Arts this may have missed many people's radar but out now on DVD and Blu-ray, It's well worth checking out.

The performances are all round solid and as you have come to expect from Nordic TV the cinematography is spectacular. Some have described it as a slow burn but I didn't feel that at all. If you have ever read any Jo Nesbo or seen the film adaptation of his great Head-hunters novel you will know what to expect.
It's 10 episodes long which I felt was just right. It's one of those seasons where you just want to watch the next one straight away so as with me it may result in a few late nights but it's definitely well worth your time.
8/10

OCCUPIED IS OUT NOW ON DVD AND BLU-RAY.

CLICK HERE FOR OCCUPIED ON AMAZON

OCCUPIED TRAILER.

Exorcism horror ASMODEXIA on DVD 28 March 2016

Hello folks,

Jonny T here wih news that Spanish exorcism movie ASMODEXIA is getting a UK release date on March 28! Heard good things about it so watch this space for a review coming very soon.

Exorcism horror ASMODEXIA on DVD 28 March 2016

"... will chill you to the bone ..." Dread Central

"... wonderfully blasphemous ..." UK Horror Scene

Demonic possession spreads like a plague in a sinister, gothic road movie ….

From the disturbing opening scenes of a possessed mother giving birth, to the gruesome revelations in a grimy mental asylum, ASMODEXIA draws from occult classics THE EXORCIST, ROSEMARY’S BABY and Spanish horror franchise REC, but brings a dramatic new twist to the exorcism sub-genre.

Travelling exorcists battle dark forces in a macabre tale of horrifying possession, religious extremism and paranoia that builds to a shocking finale.  Released on UK DVD on 28 March 2016, ASMODEXIA is yet another distinctive horror movie to emerge from the vibrant Spanish genre scene.

Synopsis:

An aging priest and his granddaughter Alba roam the darkest corners of Spain as travelling exorcists, violently exorcising children, mental patients and drug addicts of a malevolent infestation.  They pass through desolate, sun-bleached landscapes and long-abandoned buildings, ridding the afflicted of this unholy epidemic while counting down the days to a mysterious resurrection.

Pursued by a shadowy cult with a sinister agenda, the duo discover that a mystery from Alba’s past may hold the key to salvation … or open the door to an unspeakable evil.

Genre: Horror | Year: 2014 | Cert: TBC | Country: Spain | Language: Spanish

Subtitles: English | Running Time: 81 mins

Directed by: Marc Carreté

Screenplay by: Mike Hostench and Marc Carreté

Cast: Luís Marco, Clàudia Pons, Irene Montalà

 About director Marc Carreté:

Marc Carreté studied image and sound at the School of Audiovisual Media of Barcelona, before working for some of the leading advertising agencies in Spain.  He has produced corporate spots and commercials for many international brands in the automotive, pharmaceutical, fashion, cosmetics and sports sectors.

In 2010, he created KRT MEDIA and wrote, produced and directed his first short film MAL CUERPO in 2011. The film was subsequently selected for the Official Competition of the 44th edition of the Sitges Film Festival.  In 2012 he filmed CASTIDERMIA, his second short which was also selected for Sitges, as well as several international film festivals. Towards the end of 2012, he wrote what would become his first feature-length film, ASMODEXIA.  Based on Carreté´s own original idea, the script was co-written with Mike Hostench and shot in Barcelona in September 2013.

Marc Carrete's influences lean towards the ‘fantastique’ in both cinema and literature, with Poe, Lovecraft, Stevenson, Flaubert, King, Dario, Maupassant among his favourite writers.

About Sharp Teeth Films:

Sharp Teeth Films promises to bring a taste of the unusual to UK audiences via cinema, DVD and VOD releases. Our carefully selected line-up will include a mix of languages and genres, with a focus on standout stories that are both provocative and fascinating … films with ‘bite’. The first releases include New York sub-culture documentary RUBBLE KINGS, highlighting the true story behind cult classic The Warriors, ‘holiday from hell’ horror SHOPPING TOUR, a thought-provoking, cannibal satire and YOU ARE NOT ALONE, a first-person POV thriller seen from the perspective of the victim.

DVD special features TBC

'Emelie' Coming to your home soon...

Hey Folks,

Some great news that "EMELIE" is getting a well deserved release in the UK on 14th of March digitally with the DVD to follow on 4th April.

I was lucky enough to catch it a last years MAYHEM festival and it's great! Some really unsettling scenes and the lead actress is super creepy, Watch this space for a review coming very soon. All details below.

Jonny T.

Emelie

Out on Digital HD 14th MarchFrom FrightFest Presents comes Emelie...

Tense, shocking, and unbearably claustrophobic, Emelie is a nerve-shredding thriller that taps into every parent’s worst fear: what would happen if your babysitter isn’t quite what they seem to be? With an unsettling lead performance from Sarah Bolger (Agent Carter), Emelie is a believable nightmare that could come knocking at your door...

Starring

Sarah Bolger (Agent Carter, Once Upon a Time, The Lazarus Effect, The Tudors)

Chris Beetem (Black Hawk Down, TV’s Orange Is The New Black)

Sarah Poufar (Irrational Man, TV’s Scandal)

Joshua Rush (Mr. Peabody & Sherman, Break Point)

Synopsis

The Thompsons, a loving family living in a peaceful suburb are the very definition of wholesome normalcy. But on the eve of their thirteenth wedding anniversary their usual babysitter has to cancel, leaving Dan and Joyce to call upon a new girl who seems like a dream come true to their three children: Christopher, Sally and Jacob. As the night creeps on, the kids slowly realize something is very wrong and this woman is not who she claims to be. Jacob, the eldest, must grow up quickly if he wants to save his siblings from the sinister intentions of Emelie, the disturbed woman masquerading as their babysitter and DVD 4th April

ROAR!(1981) Reviewed.

Ravening jungle beasts assemble in flocks to invade an otherwise quiet home where they chase humans up and down stairways and from one room to another.
Director: Noel Marshall
Writers: Noel Marshall, Ted Cassidy
Stars: Tippi Hedren, Noel Marshall, Melanie Griffith

Now, The above synopsis is from IMDB - ROAR and pretty much sums up the film apart from the additional comment that should have been on there "It's off its rocker!"
Described as one of the most dangerous movies ever made you can see why it is touted as that.
Starring Noel Marshall as Hank, He plays a person who is doing research into big cat behaviour and basically lives with them in his cabin, Lions, Tigers, Leopards, Black panthers you name it and that black cat lives there.

Noel Marshall passed away in 2010 and to be honest I'm surprised he and many others made it through this film! There is of course an underlying story to ROAR but that some how gets forgotten as your jaw drops at what a loon he is around the big cats.

  

He charges into packs of fighting lions to try and brake them up, Gets taken down loads of times by packs of lions chasing him it just goes on and on. The editing must have been a nightmare to achieve a good looking film but they definitely achieved it . It says no animals were hurt during the filming but you an guarantee plenty of humans were!
We also get Tippi Hedran and a very young Melanie Griffiths. If you watch the scenes that involve the big cats you can see how genuinely nervous all the actors are except Noel Marshall he doesn't give a damn!.
It really is one of the films hat whilst you are watching and indeed after that you really want to research everything about it and what the hell went on,
All in all an insane price of film making, No CGI here just ROAR power!(sorry about that!)
Go hunt it down
8/10
Jonny T.

Remastered and uncut trailer

The Forest - Reviewed.

"A woman goes into Japan's Suicide Forest to find her twin sister, and confronts supernatural terror"

Sometimes when you a see a big Hollywood release in the horror genre will be showing at the cinema and you are bombarded by TV spots and trailers you think "That might not be bad" as was the case with me and The Forest. I was wrong on this one.

The subject matter interested me as it's set near Mount Fuji in Japan which I was fortunate enough to visit a couple of years back, But I must say I didn't get to visit the suicide forest.

The film started to annoy me as soon as she arrived in Japan and went to a sushi bar where they served her live fish and she said "Er, Can have have one of those but dead" whilst the rest of the folks there laughed at here. Silly.

She eventually makes it to the suicide forest and finds her sisters deserted tent then the night sets in and so does the ridiculousness. It just relies on so many jump scares, The acting is bad and anyone who has seen any Asian movie ever will recognise all the rip off parts throughout.

Basically if you have never seen a horror film this would probably scare you to death, well probably not that much.

At points throughout the movie they do try and throw you a little tease at what you are watching could have a twist at some point but they never come. And I wont even say anything about the ending that was laughable at best. I as you know have been doing this here Blog for a while now and get sent straight to DVD previews and some of them are really good, so how come this got a cinema release? Money, Money, Money and a lady from Game Of Thrones.Good beginning but drops off to a bland predictable film. 

This should go straight to DVD then straight to the £1 shop, 

Very Poor, Save your cash!

4/10

Jonny T.